WASHINGTON — AI technology firm Anthropic filed a 96-page court document Wednesday arguing that its Claude artificial intelligence system operates beyond the company’s control once integrated into the Pentagon’s classified military networks. The filing represents the company’s effort to challenge the Trump administration’s classification of the firm as a potential supply chain threat.
The legal brief submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. offers insight into the strategy Anthropic’s legal team plans to pursue in their lawsuit, which emerged from a disagreement over the use of AI in fully autonomous weapons systems and possible domestic surveillance applications.
The California-based technology firm argues that defense officials are unlawfully punishing the company by applying a security designation typically reserved for preventing foreign interference with critical national security infrastructure.
The appeals court previously denied Anthropic’s emergency motion to halt Pentagon actions during the ongoing evidence-gathering phase of the case.
Wednesday’s submission directly responds to judicial inquiries in preparation for May 19 oral arguments. Federal attorneys representing the Trump administration will submit their counter-arguments prior to the scheduled hearing.
Anthropic experienced a procedural loss in the Washington proceedings despite winning a related case on identical issues in San Francisco federal court. That victory led the Trump administration to withdraw the controversial designations, according to legal documents.
However, the absence of a comparable ruling in the Washington case continues to create uncertainty for Anthropic, which has emerged as a major player in the AI sector alongside competitor OpenAI. Following the Pentagon’s cancellation of a $200 million Anthropic contract due to their dispute, OpenAI secured an agreement to supply AI technology to military operations.
